THE EARL OF CAMPERDOWNwished, before the House adjourned, to ask the noble Earl the First Lord of the Admiralty a Question of which he had given him private Notice. In the course of the debate on the state of the 836 Navy the other night allusion was made to the Intelligence Department of the Admiralty by a noble Lord on the Opposition side, but on that occasion his noble Friend, did not refer to the remarks made on that subject; and he therefore thought it would be of advantage if the First Lord of the Admiralty would now give the House such information as he could with regard to the constitution of the Intelligence Department at the present time. It had only been constituted some two or three years; and he knew nothing about it except what he had heard outside the House.
§ THE EARL OF NORTHBROOKsaid, he was much obliged to his noble Friend for putting that Question. In the interesting discussion of the other night he was afraid that he had inadvertently omitted to notice an observation of the noble Viscount (Viscount Sidmouth) in respect to the Intelligence Department of the Admiralty. That Department had only been formed about two years ago; and the Board of Admiralty was much indebted to his gallant friend Admiral Tryon for the pains he had taken in organizing it. The Intelligence Department had done most excellent work since then. The head of it was Captain Hall, a very able officer, who had had charge of it for the last two years. The work of the Intelligence Department did not come before the public, being performed for the confidential information of the Board of Admiralty; and he was speaking the opinion of Sir Cooper Key, who superintended the work of that Department, when he said that they were much indebted to Captain Hall and the staff under him for the manner in which the important and valuable work of that Department had been commenced and was now being carried on with great advantage to the Public Service.